Music - Albums - Videos

Mark Olson (born September 18, 1961 in Minneapolis) is an American musician. He is one of the founding members of acclaimed alternative country bands The Jayhawks and The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers and a respected singer/songwriter in his own right.

Olson formed The Jayhawks in 1985 with singer/guitarist Gary Louris and was originally the principal singer/songwriter in the group. Along with Marc Perlman (bass) and Thad Spencer (drums), they released their eponymous debut album in 1986 through independent label Bunkhouse Records. The band were signed by Minneapolis label Twin Tone in 1987 and released Blue Earth, which saw Louris sharing more songwriting and singing duties with Olson. It was this album that led the band to be signed by major label Def American, A&R representative & producer George Drakoulias is said to have heard Blue Earth playing in the background while on a phone call to Twin Tone in 1991 and signed the band later that year. Their first album for Def American was the Drakoulias-produced Hollywood Town Hall in 1992. After a successful single, "Waiting For The Sun", and extensive touring the band went back in the studio and released the follow-up, Tomorrow the Green Grass in 1995, which yielded the radio hit "Blue". The same year Olson quit The Jayhawks to look after wife Victoria Williams after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and the band continued without him, releasing three more albums before calling it a day in 2005. For his post-Jayhawks career, Olson decided to return to his folk and country roots and with the help of his wife Victoria Williams and multi-instrumentalist Mike "Razz" Russell, self-released the well-received album The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers in 1997. The trio teamed up again for the 1998 album Pacific Coast Rambler and 1999's Zola And The Tulip Tree.
By 2000, Olson was confident enough to give an album his own name, releasing the autobiographical My Own Jo Ellen under Mark Olson And The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers. Two more albums recorded with The Creekdippers followed, December's Child in 2002 (which saw him reunited with former bandmate Gary Louris for the first time in seven years on the track "Say You'll Be Mine") and Mystic Theatre (which also featured Victoria Williams) in 2004. The same year saw the release of another Creekdippers album, Political Manifest. After splitting from wife Williams in 2005, Olson paired up once again with Louris for two short tours in the winter of 2005 and the spring of 2006. He released his acclaimed solo album, The Salvation Blues, in June 2007. The album, written while staying with Cardiff-based folk singer and writer Charlotte Greig and her novelist husband John Williams, was inspired by his divorce from wife Victoria Williams. After the release of The Salvation Blues, Mark Olson toured all over the States and Europe with Italian violin player Michele Gazich and Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Ingunn Ringvold (Sailorine), playing djembe / percussion, piano and singing harmony vocals playing more than 300 shows together.An album with Louris was released in November 2008 (January 2009 in the U.S.), produced by Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, called Ready For The Flood.
Discography
With The Jayhawks
* The Jayhawks (1986)
* Blue Earth (1989)
* Hollywood Town Hall (1992)
* Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995)
With The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers
* The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers (1997)
* Pacific Coast Rambler (1998)
* Zola And The Tulip Tree (1999)
* My Own Jo Ellen (2000)
* December's Child (2002)
* Mystic Theatre (2004)
* Political Manifest (2004)
Solo
* The Salvation Blues (2007)
With Gary Louris
* Ready For The Flood (2008)

Mark Lanegan (born November 25, 1964) in Ellensburg, Washington) is an American rock musician and songwriter.

Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career. The Screaming Trees eventually disbanded in 2000 and although Lanegan became a permanent member of Queens of the Stone Age for a period he continued to collaborate on tracks with other artists such as Melissa Auf der Maur, Martina Topley Bird, Creature with the Atom Brain and recently on Black River by the electronic outfit, Bomb the Bass. Since leaving the Queens of the Stone Age in 2005, Lanegan has worked with fellow Gutter Twin Greg Dulli's Twilight Singers as well as collaborating with Soulsavers and former Belle and Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell (on two albums). His latest solo studio release was Bubblegum released in 2004. He is currently serving as lead singer of the rock band The Gutter Twins, which was in 2003 and released their debut in 2008 under the title Saturnalia.
Lanegan is a fairly private person and rarely talks about his childhood years. However, in 1996, during an interview for Pacific Northwest periodical "The Rocket" he said that he drove a combine. It is known that he came from a 'dysfunctional' family that he tried to avoid, and was heavily into drugs by the age of 18, having already been arrested and sentenced to one year's imprisonment for drug-related crimes. He managed to get out of jail by taking a year-long rehab course. Around this time he met and befriended Van Conner with whom he would eventually form the Screaming Trees. At this point his relationship with the Conner brothers was restricted to talking about music and working for their parents' electronics hardware store.
Discography
* Winding Sheet (1990)
* Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994)
* Scraps at Midnight (1998)
* I'll Take Care of You (1999)
* Field Songs (2001)
* Bubblegum (2004)

Mark Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and film score composer. Knopfler is best-known as the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits,

Which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler has continued to record and produce albums as a solo artist, under his own name. Occasionally, Knopfler has played in other groups, such as the The Notting Hillbillies; as well, he has guested on works by other artists, including The Dandy Warhols, Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, Jeff Healey, John Fogerty, Jools Holland, Steely Dan, Emmylou Harris, Sonny Landreth, Phil Lynott and Chet Atkins. He has produced albums for artists such as Tina Turner, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan. In addition, he has scored the music to several films, including Metroland, Local Hero, Cal, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Wag the Dog, and Rob Reiner's classic, The Princess Bride. He is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era. Knopfler was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.
Mark Knopfler was born to an English mother and a Hungarian Jewish father, an architect whose communist sympathies forced him to flee the fascist regime of his native Hungary. The family first moved to Scotland, but then settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England when he was around 7 years old. There, he and his younger brother David (also a musician) attended Gosforth Grammar School, where he was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica and boogie-woogie piano playing. Later, in his teens, he wanted to buy an expensive flamingo-pink Fender Stratocaster just like Hank Marvin's, but had to settle for a £50 twin pickup Höfner Super Solid. Like many other schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to singers like Elvis Presley and guitarists Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton. At age 16, he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with a friend from school named Sue Hercombe.
The Dire Straits years (1977-1995)
Dire Straits' first demos were done in three sessions during 1977, with Pick Withers as drummer and John Illsley on bass guitar. On the 27 July, 1977 they recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs - "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song) and "Water of Love". In what was probably October they recorded "Southbound Again", "In The Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London and, finally, on the 9th of November demo tapes were made of "Setting Me Up", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits which was released in the following year: "Down To The Waterline" recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In The Gallery" is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, (father of Steve Phillips); and "Lions", "Wild West End" and "Eastbound Train" were all drawn from Mark's early days in the capital.
Solo career (1996-present)
Mark Knopfler's first solo album, Golden Heart, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96'ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia.
Live performance
* Knopfler's audience has grown to reach six continents. He is known to his audiences for his affable manner, humorous banter and amiable audience interaction during performances.
* Knopfler has been known to sip tea on stage during live performances. His guitarist Richard Bennett has also joined in drinking tea with him on stage. photo. On 31 July 2005 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the tea was replaced by whiskey in respect of ritual "last show of tour" sort of joke.
Awards and acclaim
* The Edison Award was awarded to Mark Knopfler for Outstanding Achievements in the Music Industry, the highest award for musicians in the Netherlands.
* Grammy Awards 1986 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for Cosmic Square Dance)
* Grammy Awards 1991 - Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Chet Atkins (for Poor Boy Blues')
* Grammy Awards 1991 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for So Soft, Your Goodbye)
* In 1993, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Newcastle University.
* In 1999, Knopfler was awarded the OBE.
* In Summer 1995, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Leeds.
* In 2001 The Masiakasaurus knopfleri (a species of dinosaur) was named after him.
* On 11 July 2007, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Sunderland University.
* Knopfler along with his band Dire Straits won the 1986 Grammy award for "Best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal" for their song "Money for Nothing."
* In February 2009, Knopfler's British Grove Studios was the winner of the Music Producers Guild Award for 'Best Studio'.
Nominations
* Grammy Awards 1986 - Song of the Year (songwriter) (for 'Money for Nothing')
* Grammy Awards 1992 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for 'Neck and Neck')
* Grammy Awards 2007 - Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album with Emmylou Harris (for 'All the Roadrunning')

Marjorie Fair is an American band formed by musician Evan Slamka, and based in Los Angeles, California. The only consistent member thus far has been Evan Slamka (vocals, guitar), and has included Wayne Faler (guitar), Dain Luscombe (keyboards), Scott Lord (bass guitar), Mike Delisa (drums), and Jayson Larson (drums).

The band was signed to Capitol Records for the release of their debut album Self Help Serenade but were subsequently dropped. A blog posting on the band's official MySpace page (dated October 29, 2007) states "...we've been putting the finishing touches on the next record. If you know anyone who would like to put it out without having heard a single note of it, please let us know." The blog posting goes on to say that Scott Lord and Wayne Faler have since left the band.
Band members
* Evan Slamka – Vocals, guitar
* Jayson Larson – Drums
Albums
* Self Help Serenade (May 31, 2004 - UK) (July 19, 2005 - US)
Singles
* "Stare" (May 17, 2004)
* Waves" (October 18, 2004)
Trivia
* Their song "Empty Room" was played in a scene of the teenage drama TV series One Tree Hill

Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American dream-folk and fine artist based in Boston. She grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. She studied painting at Rhode Island School of Design but song-writing became her favored artistic outlet.

While exploring old artistic techniques such as woodcarving and encaustic painting, she also began to hone her songwriting craft. She is a self taught guitarist, who as a teenager learned to play in a style similar to Travis picking, playing a steady bass pattern with the thumb and filling out syncopated rhythms with the fingers. She is also self-taught as a singer.
Her voice (often bathed in a wash of reverb) is what people immediately respond to in her music, described by the popular online music website Pitchfork Media as "a voice you would follow straight into Hades." She is known for her dreamy, atmospheric music, that although rooted in folk traditions, is more ethereal than earthy. Her music was recently described as "ethereal reverberations" in the New York Times.
Many describe Nadler's songs as having American Gothic leanings; her stories often take place in an imagined, idealistic time with a cast of characters of her own creation. Yet, in recent years, it has emerged that the characters are less make believe than listeners thought and are based on real people, and their real lives. Her links to American Gothic are reinforced by "Annabelle Lee," the last song on her debut album, Ballads of Living and Dying, which puts the poem of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe to a musical backing. Singing in a haunting mezzo-soprano, the foundation of her songs are her delicate acoustic guitar, often accompanied by a variety of instruments, ranging from organ to theremin to electric guitar.
Marissa Nadler released her first album, Ballads of Living and Dying, on Eclipse Records in 2004; her follow-up, The Saga of Mayflower May, was released in July 2005. Both records were distributed in the US by Eclipse Records, and by the UK label Beautiful Happiness in Europe. Eclipse Records' Ed Hardy is credited as having "discovered" Marissa Nadler, and also bringing her into the underground music family. A Welsh label, My Kung Fu records, released a double A-side 7" single for "Diamond Heart"/"Leather Made Shoes" in 2006, two tracks from her third record. Marissa released her third record Songs III: Bird on the Water on Peacefrog Records in Europe on March 12, 2007. The album was released in the US and Canada on August 12, 2007 by Kemado Records. Songs III: Bird on the Water was nominated for two PLUG awards in 2008: best female artist of the year, and best Americana record of the year. Marissa won "Outstanding Singer-Songwriter of the Year" in the 2008 Boston Music Awards, with three nominations altogether. Her fourth full-length record, Little Hells, was released March 3, 2009.
Albums
* Ballads of Living and Dying (2004)
* The Saga of Mayflower May (July 2005)
* Songs III: Bird on the Water (March 2007)
* Little Hells (March 2009)
Singles, EPs and demos
* Four-Track Recordings, Outtakes (2005)
* "Diamond Heart"/"Leather Made Shoes" single (May 2006)
* "Diamond Heart"/"Dying Breed" single (February 2007)
* "Bird on Your Grave" single (music video only) (October 2007)
* Ivy and the Clovers - Promotional CD sold on tour (2007)

Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician and artist, known for his controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe & convicted murderer Charles Manson.

Manson was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of Barb Wyer and Hugh Warner. His father was a Catholic and his mother Episcopalian. According to his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Manson is of German and Polish ancestry on his father's side. He was raised in his mother's religion, attending Heritage Christian School, though he later transferred out, graduating from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1987. In 1990, Manson was a college student attending Broward Community College. He was working toward a journalism degree and gaining experience in the field by writing music articles for a South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel, when he met several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including: My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
Manson formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids in Florida in 1989 (the name was shortened to Marilyn Manson in 1992). While with The Spooky Kids, he was involved with Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy) in two side-projects: Satan on Fire, a faux-Christian metal ensemble where he played bass guitar, and drums in Mrs. Scabtree, a collaborative band formed with White and then girlfriend Jessicka (vocalist with the band Jack Off Jill) as a way to combat contractual agreements that prohibited Marilyn Manson from playing in certain clubs. In the summer of 1993, the band drew the attention of Trent Reznor. Reznor produced their 1994 debut album, Portrait of an American Family and released it on his Nothing Records label. The band began to develop a cult following, which grew larger with the release of Smells Like Children in 1995. That EP yielded the band's first big MTV hit with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics hit. Antichrist Superstar (co-produced by Trent Reznor) was an even greater success. In the US alone, three of the band's albums have been awarded platinum certification, three more gold, and the band has had three releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Manson first worked as a producer with the band Jack Off Jill. He helped name the band and produce most of the band's early recordings, and also played guitar on the song "My Cat" and had the band open most of his South Florida shows. Manson later wrote the liner notes to the band's album Humid Teenage Mediocrity 1992-1995, a collection of early Jack Off Jill recordings. Manson has appeared as a guest performer on DMX's album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and on Godhead's 2000 Years of Human Error album the only album released on his vanity label Posthuman. Also latest musical project is a cover of the Danny Elfman song This is Halloween that was included on the soundtrack of the 2007 3D re-release of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. as well as the 2008 cover album Nightmare Revisited.
Manson made an appearance in the video game Area 51 as Edgar a Grey Alien. His song "Cruci-Fiction In Space" is featured in a commercial for a video game, The Darkness. His likeness is also featured on the Celebrity Deathmatch video game for which he recorded a song for the soundtrack (2003). The song "Use your fist and not your mouth" was the credits score of the game Cold Fear as well as Spawn: Armageddon. Also launched, "Mansinthe," his own brand of Swiss made absinthe, which has received mixed reviews ranging from critics who compared the drink's odor to sewage water and described the taste as being "as bad as piss" to coming second to Versinthe in an Absinthe top 5 and winning a Gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. prior to his relationship with Dita Von Teese, he was in a relationship with Michele Greenberg. He then was engaged to actress Rose McGowan. In 2007, attention was brought to Manson's love life again when a relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood was made public. After media comments from Manson that he wears his signature black leather pants 24/7, animal rights group PETA added Manson to PETA’s, ‘Worst-Dressed Celebrities of 2008’.
Filmography
* Lost Highway (1997)
* Spawn (song) (1997)
* Private Parts (song) (1997)
* Dead Man on Campus (song) (1998)
* Jawbreaker (1999)
* House on Haunted Hill (song) 1999)
* Clone High (2000)
* Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (song) (2000)
* From Hell (score, 2001)
* Not Another Teen Movie (song, 2001)
* Life as a House (Song) (2001)
* Resident Evil (score, 2002)
* Bowling for Columbine (interview, 2002)
* Queen of the Damned (song) (2002)
* The Hire: Beat The Devil (2003)
* Party Monster (2003)
* Doppelherz (director,score) 2003)
* The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
* Saw II (song, 2005)
* House of Wax (song, 2005)
* Living Neon Dreams (2006)
* Rise: Blood Hunter (2006)
* Funny Games (song) (2008)
* Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll (acting, directing, writing, score) (2009)
* King Shot (2009)
Books
* The Long Hard Road Out of Hell (1998)
* Holy Wood Unreleased

Marianne Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an award-winning English singer, songwriter, actress and diarist whose career spans over four decades. Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s.

After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the landmark album, Broken English. Faithfull's subsequent work, very frequently the subject of great critical acclaim, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history.
Over the course of her long recording career, Faithfull has continually reinvented her musical persona, experimenting in different musical genres and collaborating with such varied artists as Angelo Badalamenti, Beck, David Bowie, Nick Cave, The Chieftains, Jarvis Cocker, Billy Corgan, Marcella Detroit, Emmylou Harris, PJ Harvey, Antony Hegarty, Rupert Hine, Joe Jackson, Alex James, Lenny Kaye, Daniel Lanois, Sean Lennon, Metallica, John Prine, Barry Reynolds, Keith Richards, Sly and Robbie, Teddy Thompson, Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright, Roger Waters, Steve Winwood and Patrick Wolf.
Nominations and awards
On 4 November 2007, the European Film Academy announced that Faithfull had received a nomination for Best Actress, for her role as Maggie in Irina Palm. At the 20th annual European Film Awards ceremony held in Berlin, on 1 December 2007, Faithfull lost to Helen Mirren. On March 5, 2009, Faithfull received the World Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 Woman's World Awards. "Marianne’s contribution to the arts over a 45 year career including 23 albums as a singer, songwriter and interpreter, and numerous appearances on stage and screen is now being acknowledged with this special award." The award was presented in Vienna, with ceremonies televised in over 40 countries on March 8, 2009 as part of International Women's Day.
Filmography
* Made in U.S.A. (1966)
* Anna (1967)
* I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name (1967)
* Three Sisters (1967)
* La Motocyclette / The Girl on a Motorcycle (a.k.a. Naked Under Leather) (1968)
* Rock and Roll Circus (1968/Released 1996)
* Hamlet (1969)
* Lucifer Rising (1972)
* Madhouse Mansion (1974)
* Assault on Agathon (1975)
* The Turn of the Screw (1992) (narration)
* When Pigs Fly (1993)
* Shopping (1994)
* Moondance (1995)
* Crimetime (1996)
* Intimacy (2001)
* Far From China (2001)
* Nord-Plage (2004)
* A Letter to True (2004)
* Paris, je t'aime (2006)
* Marie Antoinette (2006)
* Irina Palm (2007)
* Evil Calls: The Raven aka Alone in the Dark (2008)

Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is perhaps best known for their 1997 hit "Sex and Candy".

Named for the formative location in lead singer John Wozniak's childhood, the Marcy Open grade school in Minneapolis, Marcy Playground emerged in the late 1990s. They had been influenced heavily by Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana. The influence is quite clear on Marcy Playground's self-titled album, with songs like Shadow of Seattle and Saint Joe On The School Bus. Other influences include David Bowie, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles. Frontman John Wozniak's first effort, Zog BogBean - From the Marcy Playground, was self-produced, recorded in his bedroom studio with some help from his then-girlfriend Sherry Fraser and her brother Scott in the early nineties. A small run of CDs were self-released by Wozniak, and to this day they remain extremely difficult to find. "Our Generation" and "Dog And His Master", two songs found on Wozniak's Zog Bogbean project, would appear on later Marcy Playground albums.
2009 Tour
After Gonzalo Martinez's departure from the band, family-friend Shlomi Lavie stepped in to fill the void as drummer for the band's 2009 tour, promoting two new albums. After a successful 4-Day Carnival Cruise show in the Bahamas alongside Post-grunge band Sponge & a good turnout at the Edge 103.9's Third Thursday show in Scottsdale, Arizona in late 2008, it was announced that the band would kick off an official tour for the Spring of 2009, playing in venues along the California coastline, including the notorious Key Club, as well as various cities in Canada and North Carolina.
Band members
Current
* John "Woz" Wozniak, lead vocals, guitar, songwriter, producer
* Dylan Keefe, bass, backing vocals
* Shlomi Lavie, drums, backing vocals
Past
* Dan Rieser, drums, backing vocals
* Gonzalo "Gonz" Martinez De La Cotera, drums, backing vocals
Discography
John Wozniak Solo
* 1990 - Zog BogBean - From the Marcy Playground
Albums
* 1997 - Marcy Playground (platinum certified)
* 1999 - Shapeshifter
* 2004 - MP3
* 2009 - Leaving Wonderland...in a fit of rage
* 2009 - As-of-yet unnamed rarities compilation
Singles
* 1997 - Sex and Candy
* 1998 - Saint Joe on the School Bus
* 1998 - Sherry Fraser
* 1999 - Comin' Up From Behind
* 1999 - It's Saturday
* 1999 - Bye Bye
* 2004 - Deadly Handsome Man
* 2004 - Punk Rock Superstar
* 2004 - No One's Boy
* 2004 - Blood in Alphabet Soup
* 2009 - Good Times
* 2009 - Starbaby
EP's
* 1999 - It's Saturday College Sampler EP
Soundtracks Featuring Marcy Playground
* Hurricane Streets
* Cruel Intentions
* Simply Irresistible
* Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
* Zack and Miri Make a P..
Cover songs
* Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin' (Zog BogBean - From the Marcy Playground)
* Two Ton Boa - Comin' Up From Behind (Cruel Intentions soundtrack)
* Grateful Dead - And We Bid You Goodnight (live)
* Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done (live)
* Leonard Cohen | Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (live)

Marc Almond (born Peter Mark Sinclair Almond on 9 July 1957 in Southport, Lancashire) is an English singer, songwriter and recording artist, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell.

Childhood and early life
Marc Almond was born on 9 July 1957 in Southport on the Lancashire coast between Liverpool and Blackpool, the son of Sandra Mary Almond (formerly Dieson) and Peter John Sinclair Almond, Second Lieutenant in the King's Liverpool Regiment. He was brought up at his grandparent's house in Birkdale with his younger sister Julia, and as a child suffered from bronchitis and asthma. When he was 4, they left their grandparent's house and moved to Starbeck on the edge of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Two years later they returned to Southport, and then moved to Horsforth (near Leeds). Due to a car crash at the age of 14, Almond is nearly completely deaf in his left ear. He just managed to scrape into King George V Grammar School in Southport. By this time his father was suffering from alcoholism, and Almond found solace in music, listening to British radio pioneer John Peel. The first album he purchased was the soundtrack of the stage musical Hair and the first single Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac. He became a great fan of Marc Bolan, Brian Eno and David Bowie and got a part-time job as a stable boy to fund his musical tastes.
He managed to gain two O-Levels in Art and English and was accepted onto a General Art and Design course at Southport College, specialising in Performance Art. He applied to Leeds Polytechnic where he was interviewed by Jeff Nuttall, also a performance artist, who accepted him on the strength of his mime skills. It was whilst at Leeds Polytechnic that that Marc met David Ball a fellow student, forming Soft Cell in 1979.
Discography
Albums
With Dave Ball as Soft Cell
* 1981 Non-stop Erotic Cabaret #5 UK
* 1982 Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing #6 UK
* 1983 The Art of Falling Apart #5 UK
* 1984 This Last Night In Sodom #12 UK
* 1986 The Singles
* 1991 Memorabilia: The Singles
* 1994 Down in the Subway (compilation)
* 1996 Say Hello to Soft Cell (compilation)
* 1999 The Twelve Inch Singles
* 2002 The Very Best of Soft Cell #37 UK
* 2002 Cruelty Without Beauty #116 UK
* 2003 Live
* 2003 Soft Cell at the BBC (BBC)
* 2005 The Bedsit Tapes Early/Rare Demos 1978-1982
* 2006 Demo Non Stop - More Rare Demos
* 2008 Heat: The Remixes - (Remix Album)
As Marc & the Mambas/Raoul and the Ruined
* 1982 Untitled #42 UK
* 1983 Torment and Toreros #28 UK
* 1984 Bite Black and Blues Live (Fan club only release)
As The Willing Sinners/La Magia
* 1984 Vermin in Ermine #36 UK
* 1985 Stories of Johnny #22 UK
* 1987 Mother Fist & Her Five Daughters #41 UK
* 1988 The Stars We Are
With Michael Cashmore
* 2008 Gabriel and The Lunatic Lover
Solo
* 1986 Violent Silence (mini album)
* 1986 A Woman's Story (mini album)
* 1987 Singles 1984 - 1987 (compilation of singles from The Willing Sinners era)
* 1989 Jacques
* 1990 Enchanted
* 1991 Tenement Symphony
* 1992 A Virgin's Tale - Volume I (1985-1987 B-sides & remixes from The Willing Sinners era)
* 1992 A Virgin's Tale - Volume II (1986-1987 B-sides from the Mother Fist album era)
* 1993 Twelve Years of Tears (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)
* 1993 Absinthe: The French album
* 1995 Treasure Box (rarities compilation)
* 1996 Fantastic Star
* 1998 Marc Almond & La Magia Live in Concert
* 1999 Open All Night
* 2000 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (Fan club only release)
* 2001 Stranger Things
* 2001 Live at the Union Chapel (Fan club only release)
* 2002 Little Rough Rhinestones Volume 1 (Fan club only release)
* 2003 The Willing Sinner Live in Berlin
* 2003 Marc Almond in Session Volume 1 (BBC)
* 2003 Heart on Snow
* 2003 Marc Almond in Session Volume 2 (BBC)
* 2006 Little Rough Rhinestones Volume 2 (Fan club only release)
* 2007 Stardom Road (covers album, released 4 June 2007)
Other contributions
* Vocals on "Guiltless" & "Stolen Kisses" by Psychic TV from album Force the Hand of Chance
* Vocals on "Burning Boats" by Anni Hogan from the EP Kickabye
* Vocals on "Titan Arch" by Coil, from album Love's Secret Domain
* Vocals on "Skin" by The Burmoe Brothers with Guy Chambers
* Vocals for "The Dark Age of Love" by Coil, from Songs of the Week
* Vocals for cover version of "Who By Fire" by Coil, from Horse Rotorvator
* Vocals for "Idumea" by Current 93, from Black Ships Ate the Sky
* Vocals for "The Epitaph of God" (with voices from Turnmills Ernesto Tomasini), "Tonight" and "Tango Song" (by Alistair Crowley co-arranged by Almond), from album by OTHON - Digital Angel
Books
* 1988 The Angel of Death in the Adonis Lounge (poems)
* 1999 Beautiful Twisted Night (poems, lyrics and prose)
* 1999 Tainted Life (autobiography, reprinted in paperback in 2000)
* 2001 The End of New York (poems and prose, including spoken word CD)
* 2004 In Search of the Pleasure Palace - Disreputable Travels (autobiography)

Maps is the recording name used by Northampton-based musician James Chapman. An obvious influence on Chapman are Spiritualized, whom "he loves", Galaxie 500, My Bloody Valentine, and Low.

He recorded Start Something EP by himself on his 16-track recorder, and released it on his own label Last Space Recordings in 2006, which was met with some critical acclaim. The single Don't Fear polled at No 26 in NME's top 50 singles of 2006. Critical acclaim was followed by his first full album entitled We Can Create, released on Mute Records on 19th May 2007. His first North American release To the Sky EP, was released digitally on May 22 on the same label, followed by his debut album on June 19.
Maps played the Latitude Festival in Southwold on 13 July 2007, as well as the Leeds & Reading Festivals on 24 August 2007 & 26 August 2007. Maps has toured playing the album's songs with a full live line-up, and plans to play 5 dates in the USA later in 2007. "My band sounded a bit like The Stone Roses meets Spaceman 3, they sounded like Devo," he says for The Independent. "It Will Find You" has been released as a single, with another track, "You Don't Know Her Name", being released on 30th July, 2007. On 17th July, 2007 it was announced that We Can Create had been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Since its release, the album has been seen as a critical success even though sales have been fairly modest. MAPS frontman James Chapman was recently interviewed by Liberation Frequency Online Magazine. James is supported by four local musicians for live shows. Phil Thurlby & Matthew Roberts on keyboards & vocals, Andrew Lowther on bass and Ben Gordelier on Drums. Frontman James claimed in an interview to reply to every MySpace message he receives personally.
Second upcoming album.
On 22/02/09 James Chapman wrote on his myspace blog about his new upcoming album saying "I've never been more confident and excited about this new album". In an interview he posted on this same blog, he mentions the new album's themes being "mental states" and "chemicals".
On 01/03/09 he announced 13 new tracks that had been recorded which could possibly be on the album: Turning The Mind, I Dream Of Crystal, Let Go Of The Fear, Valium In The Sunshine, Papercuts, Love Will Come, Everything Is Shattering, Nothing, The Note (These Voices), From Here’s To Bliss, Chemeleon, Die Happy, Die Smiling, Without You.
Singles
* "Start Something" (03 Oct 2005 - OP1)
* "Lost My Soul" (06 Mar 2006 - OP2)
* "Don't Fear" (30 Oct 2006 - OP3)
* "Start Something EP" (13 Nov 2006 - OP4)
* "It Will Find You" (7 May 2007 - MUTE375)
* "You Don't Know Her Name" (13 Aug 2007 - MUTE378)
* "To The Sky" (08 Oct 2007 - MUTE396)
Albums
* We Can Create (14 May 2007)
* Upcoming second album (?)

Manu Chao (born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on June 21, 1961 in Paris, France) is a French singer and political activist of Spanish (Galician-Basque) origin. He sings mainly in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese and occasionally in a number of other languages.

Chao began his musical career with Hot Pants, a French band that combined several musical styles and languages. The musician then founded the band Mano Negra with several friends in 1987, becoming a solo artist after it disbanded. Chao's mother was from Bilbao, in the Basque region of Biscay, Spain; his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, was from Galicia. They moved to Paris to escape Francisco Franco's dictatorship Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outlying suburbs of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. While growing up he was around many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were his father's acquaintances. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs.
Early years and Mano Negra
Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994.
Solo years with Radio Bemba
After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other band mates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro- and Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies.
Discography
* Clandestino (Virgin, 1998)
* Próxima Estación: Esperanza (Virgin, 2001)
* Sibérie m'était contéee (Virgin, 2004)
* La Radiolina (Because/Nacional, 2007)
* Estación México (Live in Mexico,2008; Sell only MEX )

Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis el Khaleel), & rapper MC Tee (Touré Embden).

Mantronix underwent several genre (and line-up) changes during its 7 year existence (1984–1991), from old school hip hop to electro funk to house music, but the group is primarily remembered for its original, heavily synthesized blend of old school hip-hop and electro funk. In 1984, while working as the in-store DJ for Downtown Records in Manhattan, Kurtis Mantronik, a Jamaican-Canadian émigré, met MC Tee, a Haitian-born, Flatbush, Brooklyn-based rapper. The duo soon made a demo, "Fresh Is The Word," and eventually signed with William Socolov's Sleeping Bag Records. Mantronix's second album, Music Madness, was released in 1986. While MC Tee's rhyming style on the album continued in the traditional b-boy fashion of the times, Mantronik's club-oriented production and mixing in Music Madness tended to attract more electronic dance music and electro funk aficionados than hip-hop fans. During this period, while Mantronix was signed to Sleeping Bag Records, Mantronik was employed by the label in their A&R Department, while also producing other artists and groups, including Just-Ice, T La Rock, Nocera, and Joyce Sims. Mantronix's final release, with vocalist Jade Trini replacing D.J. D, was The Incredible Sound Machine in 1991. Grammy-nominated neo soul singer/songwriter Angie Stone co-wrote seven of the eleven tracks that appeared on The Incredible Sound Machine. The Incredible Sound Machine, which tended to favor R&B, new jack swing, and dance music over hip hop, was considered both a critical and commercial disappointment. Shortly after a European tour and promotion related to the release of The Incredible Sound Machine, the group disbanded, and Mantronik left the music industry altogether for seven years. Kurtis Mantronik resurfaced in Europe in the late 1990s, producing house and techno music artists, and remains an active force in pop-oriented electronic music to this day.
Albums
* 1985 - Mantronix: The Album
* 1986 - Music Madness
* 1988 - In Full Effect
* 1990 - This Should Move Ya
* 1991 - The Incredible Sound Machine
Compilation albums
* 1990 - The Best of Mantronix 1986-1988
* 1999 - The Best of Mantronix 1985-1999
* 2002 - That's My Beat
* 2004 - Remixed & Rare
* 2005 - The Ultra Selection